Английский язык для специалистов по информационной безопасности. English for cyber security specialists. Учебное пособие

Verbs with two objects

Some verbs that have two objects can make two different active sentences, and so two different passive sentences too:

Give

Active: He gave me the book / He gave the book to me.

You can choose either of the two objects to be the subject of the passive sentence.

Passive: I was given the book (by him)/ The book was given to me (by him).

Other verbs like this are: ask, offer, teach, tell, lend, promise, sell, throw.

The passive in subordinate clauses

You can make the passive in a subordinate clause that has a subject and a normal conjugated verb. This is really the same as a normal passive.

Active: I thought that Mary had asked John.

Passive: I thought that John had been asked by Mary.

Active: He knew that people had built the University in 1915.

Passive: He knew that the University had been built in 1915.

You can also make the passive using a passive gerund or a passive infinitive in the same place as a normal gerund or infinitive.

He loves being read to.

She would like to be promoted.

When should we use the Passive?

1. When we want to change the focus of the sentence:

The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. (We are more interested in the painting than the artist in this sentence)

2. When who or what causes the action is unknown or unimportant or obvious or 'people in general':

He was arrested (obvious agent, the police).

My bike has been stolen (unknown agent).

The road is being repaired (unimportant agent).

The form can be obtained from the post office (people in general).

3. In factual or scientific writing:

The chemical is placed in a test tube and the data entered into the computer.

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4.In formal writing instead of using someone/ people/ they (these can be used in speaking or informal writing):

The brochure will be finished next month.

5.In order to put the new information at the end of the sentence to improve style:

Three books are used regularly in the class. The books were written by Dr. Bell. ('Dr. Bell wrote the books' sound clumsy)

6.When the subject is very long:

I was surprised by how well the students did in the test. (More natural than: 'how well the students did in the test surprised me')

17. Read the following sentences and say which of them are in the Active and which are in the Passive Voice. Translate them into Russian.

1.These computers are used for research and exploration purposes.

2.It can be accommodated in large air-conditioned rooms.

3.The micro-computers are specially designed for general usage like entertainment, education and work purposes.

4.While the experiment was being carried out nobody left the laboratory.

5.A new type of computing equipment is being produced at our plant.

6.At present scientific work is being done mostly by large groups of researchers.

7.The apparatus will be working when you come.

8.The scientists who are carrying out research into nuclear physics deal with the most difficult problems.

9.For twenty minutes the air in the laboratory was being purified by two ventilators.

10.The solar battery is converting the energy of sun rays directly into electric energy.

11.This experiment was carried out under low pressure.

12.For a long time the electronic devices were used for control.

13.Prospects of the usage of solar energy are already understood by everybody.

14.Now solar energy is being studied by a lot of research groups.

15.We were looking for a more simple method of solution but could not find it.

16.The engineers will discuss the advantages of this new system.

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Home assignment

18. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.

1.Все современные модели компьютеров различаются между собой по многим параметрам ‒ габаритам, функционалу, возможностям, техническим характеристикам, а также назначению.

2.Наиболее распространенным типом вычислительной техники по праву считаются персональные компьютеры.

3.Персональный компьютер (ПК) ‒ это микрокомпьютер, спроектированный для использования отдельным человеком.

4.Ноутбук ‒ это вид портативного компьютера с встроенным дисплеем, клавиатурой, курсором (вместо мыши).

5.Даженесмотрянато, чтоноутбукисущественнокомпактнейимобильней, чем стационарные компьютеры, они так же разделяются между собой по габаритам и весу.

6.Настольный компьютер ‒ стационарный персональный компьютер, предназначенный в первую очередь для работы в офисе или в домашних условиях.

7.Нетбук‒ноутбуксмаленькимэкраномиотносительноневысокой производительностью, предназначенный для выхода в Интернет и работы с офисными приложениями. Отличается компактными размерами, небольшим весом, низким энергопотреблением и относительно невысокой стоимостью.

8.Нетбуки отлично подходят для тех людей, которые любят работать не только за определенным рабочим местом, но и в дороге, то есть

впроцессе поездки, в ресторане или в машине.

9.Сегоднякомпьютеры применяютсядля решениямногочисленных и разнообразных задач, таких, как обработка текста, графика и переработка больших массивов информации.

10.Планшеты весят значительно меньше ноутбуков и даже нетбуков.

11.Существуют два основных типа компьютеров: аналоговые и цифровые.

12.Программное обеспечение представляет собой совокупность компьютерных инструкций. Оно охватывает программы, подпрограммы (разделы программы) и данные. Таким образом, программное обеспечение указывает компьютеру, что делать, как, когда, в какой последовательности и как часто.

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13.Мейнфреймы применяются на крупных предприятиях, где требуется организация бесперебойной работы с вводом-выводом и обработкой больших данных (например, продажа билетов, обслуживание платёжных терминалови т. п.), в банковских системах, в системах управления и т.д.

14.Суперкомпьютеры - это класс компьютеров, представляющий собой очень мощные устройства, с максимально высокой производительностью, предназначенные для выполнения специфических задач и расчётов, моделирования процессов в разных областях науки и техники, проведения биржевых операций.

19.Choose the correct word or word combination to complete the sentence.

1.The computer shows the … on the monitor. a images b. input c. output

2.In the rear panel of the computer there are several ports into which we can plug a wide range of … .

a. cursors b. peripherals c. RAM chips

3.People think that the most … component of a computer is the CPU. a. available b. secure c. influential

4.There are three basic hardware … : the CPU, main memory and peripherals.

a. sections b. ideas c. functions.

5.The main memory … the instructions and data which are being processed by the CPU.

a. processes b. accepts c. holds.

6.Peripherals are the devices … to the computer.

a. showed b. transferred c. attached

7. Output devices … us to extract the finished product from the system. a. enable b. displace c. dispense

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Reading

1. Read the text and translate it.

Critical Characteristics of Information

The value of information comes from the characteristics it possesses. When a characteristic of information changes, the value of that information either increases, or, more commonly, decreases. Some characteristics affect information’s value to users more than others do. This can depend on circumstances; for example, timeliness of information can be a critical factor, because information loses much or all of its value when it is delivered too late. Although information security professionals and end users share an understanding of the characteristics of information, tensions can arise when the need to secure the information from threats conflicts with the end users’ need for unhindered access to the information.

For instance, end users may perceive a tenth-of-a-second delay in the computation of data to be an unnecessary annoyance. Information security professionals, however, may perceive that tenth of a second as a minor delay that enables an important task, like data encryption. Each critical characteristic of information ‒ that is, the expanded C.I.A. triangle ‒ is defined in the sections below.

Availability

Availability enables authorized users ‒individuals or computer systems ‒ to access information without interference or obstruction and to receive it in the required format. Consider, for example, research libraries that require identification before entrance. Librarians protect the contents of the library so that they are available only to authorized patrons. The librarian must accept a patron’s identification before that patron has free access to the book stacks. Once authorized patrons have access to the contents of the stacks, they expect to find the information they need available in a useable format and familiar language, which in this case typically means bound in a book and written in English.

Accuracy

Information has accuracy when it is free from mistakes or errors and

it has the value that the end user expects. If information has been intentionally or unintentionally modified, it is no longer accurate. Consider, for

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example, a checking account. You assume that the information contained in your checking account is an accurate representation of your finances. Incorrect information in your checking account can result from external or internal errors. If a bank teller, for instance, mistakenly adds or subtracts too much from your account, the value of the information is changed. Or, you may accidentally enter an incorrect amount into your account register. Either way, an inaccurate bank balance could cause you to make mistakes, such as bouncing a check.

Authenticity

Authenticity of information is the quality or state of being genuine or original, rather than a reproduction or fabrication. Information is authentic when it is in the same state in which it was created, placed, stored, or transferred. Consider for a moment some common assumptions about e-mail. When you receive e-mail, you assume that a specific individual or group created and transmitted the e-mail ‒ you assume you know the origin of the e- mail. This is not always the case.

E-mail spoofing, the act of sending an e-mail message with a modified field, is a problem for many people today, because often the modified field is the address of the originator. Spoofing the sender’s address can fool e-mail recipients into thinking that messages are legitimate traffic, thus inducing them to open e-mail they otherwise might not have. Spoofing can also alter data being transmitted across a network, as in the case of user data protocol (UDP) packet spoofing, which can enable the attacker to get access to data stored on computing systems.

Another variation on spoofing is phishing, when an attacker attempts to obtain personal or financial information using fraudulent means, most often by posing as another individual or organization. Pretending to be someone you are not is sometimes called pretexting when it is undertaken by law enforcement agents or private investigators. When used in a phishing attack, e- mail spoofing lures victims to a Web server that does not represent the organization it purports to, in an attempt to steal their private data such as account numbers and passwords. The most common variants include posing as a bank or brokerage company, e-commerce organization, or Internet service provider. Even when authorized, pretexting does not always lead to a satisfactory outcome. In 2006, the CEO of Hewlett-Packard Corporation, Patricia Dunn, authorized contract investigators to use pretexting to “smoke out” a corporate

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director suspected of leaking confidential information. The resulting firestorm of negative publicity led to Ms. Dunn’s eventual departure from the company.

Confidentiality

Information has confidentiality when it is protected from disclosure or exposure to unauthorized individuals or systems. Confidentiality ensures that only those with the rights and privileges to access information are able to do so. When unauthorized individuals or systems can view information, confidentiality is breached. To protect the confidentiality of information, you can use a number of measures, including the following:

‒Information classification

‒Secure document storage application of general security policies

‒Education of information custodians and end users

Confidentiality, like most of the characteristics of information, is interdependent with other characteristics and is most closely related to the characteristic known as privacy.

The value of confidentiality of information is especially high when it is personal information about employees, customers, or patients. Individuals who transact with an organization expect that their personal information will remain confidential, whether the organization is a federal agency, such as the Internal Revenue Service, or a business. Problems arise when companies disclose confidential information.

Sometimes this disclosure is intentional, but there are times when disclosure of confidential information happens by mistake ‒ for example, when confidential information is mistakenly e-mailed to someone outside the organization rather than to someone inside the organization. Examples of confidentiality breaches are an employee throwing away a document containing critical information without shredding it, or a hacker who successfully breaks into an internal database of a Web-based organization and steals sensitive information about the clients, such as names, addresses, and credit card numbers.

As a consumer, you give up pieces of confidential information in exchange for convenience or value almost daily. By using a “members only” card at a grocery store, you disclose some of your spending habits. When you fill out an online survey, you exchange pieces of your personal history for access to online privileges. The bits and pieces of your information that you

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disclose are copied, sold, replicated, distributed, and eventually coalesced into profiles and even complete dossiers of yourself and your life. A similar technique is used in a criminal enterprise called salami theft. A deliworker knows he or she cannot steal an entire salami, but a few slices here or there can be taken home without notice. Eventually the deli worker has stolen a whole salami. In information security, salami theft occurs when an employee steals a few pieces of information at a time, knowing that taking more would be noticed ‒but eventually the employee gets something complete or useable.

Integrity

Information has integrity when it is whole, complete, and uncorrupted. The integrity of information is threatened when the information is ex-

posed to corruption, damage, destruction, or other disruption of its authentic state.

Corruption

Corruption can occur while information is being stored or transmitted. Many computer viruses and worms are designed with the explicit purpose of corrupting data. For this reason, a key method for detecting a virus or worm is to look for changes in file integrity as shown by the size of the file. Another key method of assuring information integrity is file hashing, in which a file is read by a special algorithm that uses the value of the bits in the file to compute a single large number called a hash value. The hash value for any combination of bits is unique.

If a computer system performs the same hashing algorithm on a file and obtains a different number than the recorded hash value for that file, the file has been compromised and the integrity of the information is lost.

Information integrity is the cornerstone of information systems, because information is of no value or use if users cannot verify its integrity.

Corruption is not necessarily the result of external forces, such as hackers. Noise in the transmission media, for instance, can also cause data to lose its integrity.

Transmitting data on a circuit with a low voltage level can alter and corrupt the data. Redundancy bits and check bits can compensate for internal and external threats to the integrity of information. During each transmission, algorithms, hash values, and the error-correcting codes ensure the integrity of the information.

Data whose integrity has been compromised is retransmitted.

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Utility

The utility of information is the quality or state of having value for some purpose or end. Information has value when it can serve a purpose. If information is available, but is not in a format meaningful to the end user, it is not useful. For example, to a private citizen U.S. Census data can quickly become overwhelming and difficult to interpret; however, for a politician, U.S. Census data reveals information about the residents in a district, such as their race, gender, and age.

This information can help form a politician’s next campaign strategy.

Possession

The possession of information is the quality or state of ownership or control. Information is said to be in one’s possession if one obtains it, independent of format or other characteristics. While a breach of confidentiality always results in a breach of possession, a breach of possession does not always result in a breach of confidentiality. For example, assume a company stores its critical customer data using an encrypted file system. An employee who has quit decides to take a copy of the tape backups to sell the customer records to the competition. The removal of the tapes from their secure environment is a breach of possession. But, because the data is encrypted, neither the employee nor anyone else can read it without the proper decryption methods; therefore, there is no breach of confidentiality.

Today, people caught selling company secrets face increasingly stiff fines with the likelihood of jail time. Also, companies are growing more and more reluctant to hire individuals who have demonstrated dishonesty in their past.

After reading tasks

Developing professional vocabulary Working out the meaning of unknown words

2. The following words in the box are all from the text above. Find them in the text.

3. For each word, read the sentence it occurs in and answer the questions.

a) Is the word positive, negative or neutral?

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